Four Lads Stacked In A Trench Coat

She's Leaving Behind

A typical day. A typical girl.
A typical family. A typical home.
She gathers what she can
in her duffel bag, but the
sorrow doesn't fit. Off to
the station to catch the Greyhound;
a friendlier state to shed her shame.
Eighteen and barely out of school,
not ready for a lifetime of poor choices
saddling her future. Her parents
and her Croupier beau mustn't know.
Her life flashes by as she
looks out the window. "How could I
be so cruel and unkind?" Facing
a consequence makes a
different woman out of her
in ways it'll take her years to see.
Reaching the destination, she
arrives as two destined
to leave as herself, scarred
but sure she's doing what's best.
Maybe she'll start a new life
here, should she not return
but that's not for now to decide.
"Just get this over with" is
all that goes through her mind
but the guilt gone is the one thing
her money can't buy.